Behind the Curtains
by AliciaDaily
Summary: Behind the curtains they all knew each other from the beginning. Behind the curtains they were being told their lines. Behind the curtains everything was a sham. Behind the curtains ... she was taken and replaced. This story is my own version of the show and will stray from the show a little bit, so the characters may be OOC. ON HOLD!
1. Chapter 1

Courtney POV:

The last challenge of the season was finally over and everyone was having a good time off of Owen's win. We weren't allowed off of the island right away and will be brought back to Playa Des Losers soon to get final interviews and things done.

I didn't want to be here any longer, this was a complete waste of time considering I was unfairly voted off. I could have been at school getting somewhere with my life (the show was actually filmed through the whole year we were expected to go to interviews and things when we weren't on the island, therefore we missed a lot of school). I can't say that this whole thing was worth it, some may argue that I should be happy because I met a lot of people on this island and it was a great opportunity but I'll be honest this whole thing was a sham to get views, everyone on this island knew everyone else some way or another.

Trent, Gwen, Bridgette, Geoff, Duncan, Heather and I all came from the same school, the other people on the island all came from different schools that are around the same area as our school. In fact Trent, Bridgette and I have been best friends since we were practically in diapers, Geoff was also one of my good friends but he didn't hang out with Bridgette and Trent because schedules never really worked out and from the very beginning he had a crush on Bridgette and was too much of a chicken to talk to her so yeah we never really all hung out together.

As for Heather, Bridgette and I were friends with her since we were 5, once we came on the island we all made a deal to not to let our friendship be involved in this competition so we decided to not be friends on the show and whatever happened, there were no hard feelings in the end. You would probably wonder why that was necessary and you would probably ask well if your friendship is that strong why don't you guys form an alliance instead of breaking apart and what I say to that is there is no way we could be allies, Heather and I are way to competitive for that and theres no way we would expect Bridgette to pick between us for an alliance. It would completely tear us apart and we would not be able to go home and be the friends we were in the beginning.

Now as for Duncan we have all knew of him and for a brief period of time Trent and I were friends with Duncan, this was when we were about 6 years old but then something happened and we kind of broke away from Duncan and as we grew older it became clear that Duncan was fitting in better with a different type of crowd. He started getting in trouble more and more and he constantly picked on and teased me just to get a reaction. This further pulled us in the opposite direction.

Once we were on the show Chris gave us all a part to play, it was all just a big shit show of bullshit. We were told to act a certain way and were suppose to act this way the whole time on the show if things didn't go as planned Chris had us redo the whole scene.

From the beginning Duncan and I were not suppose to be dating on the show but ratings showed that people loved our chemistry, so for the most part Chris let us act the way we wanted to towards each other. Though I never in the history of ever would have thought that this would be the result of the show with Duncan and I having these feelings but as we hung out behind the scenes we grew close and our friend group got a little bigger.

Now on to Gwen, she Bridgette and I were best friends at one point but when we got into high school things took a drastic change as Gwen began to hang out with different people and started to do things to Bridgette and I, i.e kissed my first boyfriend and spreading rumours about Bridgette that were just uncalled for to say the least. We don't really know what has been going on with her but she is definitely no friend of ours.

When we got on the island Bridgette, Heather and I avoided Gwen, her nice girl personality was not going to last, we all knew that and surprisingly the biggest and most dramatic outcome of her actions happened off cameras. Gwen in front of everyone sitting around the fire pushed me into the fire pit, I was lucky that Geoff was about to put the fire out at the moment because if it wasn't for him my burns would not have been able to hide behind makeup. This led to a lot of events on the show and off, Duncan and I became even closer and we finally kissed on the show, but Heather also tricked Gwen and Trent and kissed Trent to get back at Gwen because even though she was 'not my friend' at the time she also could not let the opportunity pass her because we all know that Heather definitely has a mean streak.

Anyway more on our whole back story later, I was taking a break from all of the festivities by walking along the beach. I was definitely going to miss being here despite what people had seen on the T.V we actually had a pretty good time after the cameras were turned off. The whole show was supposed to be 'live' and the cameras were suppose to be constantly on but after the ratings of the first episode, Chris decided to take matters into his own hands and he decided to record the episode and make us act a certain way so that the ratings would be better and he could get more money out of us.

As I walked along I could hear the cheering and music from the party Owen was throwing, and that, compared to the utter silence of mother nature, was starting to creep me out. I turned back and start to walk towards the music and cheering once again.

RUSTLE! CRUNCH!

I quickly turned around expecting to see someone following me, but also feeling completely ridiculous at thinking someone was following me. After seeing it was just a bird flying out of a bush I sighed in relief and turned back and started walking back once again.

Duncan's POV:

Geoff and I high-five as we scored our winning shot of beer pong. We were in a pretty tense game against Tyler and Justin while everyone around us cheered and drank and the music blasted.

Bridgette came up to us smiling and gave Geoff and hug while say, "Congrats guys!" She turned to me and smiled, "Duncan, Courtney was looking for you earlier. Have you guys made up yet?"

Courtney and I had a fight near the end of the season because while she was on Playa Des Losers I was getting a little too close to Gwen. Of course this was all Chris' idea and he made our actions seem worse then what I myself wanted. After I was booted off and had to face Courtney once again, we had a very long chat about what we both wanted and whether I thought this was a game or not. She was furious but also upset, she thought I treated this whole thing the way I have treated her back home when we were in school and that I was teasing her and picking on her. I don't blame her for thinking that but I assured her that it was in no way anything like that so she gave me another chance. I smirked at Bridgette, "Yeah, you know the princess couldn't resist me. Where'd you see her at?"

She let go of Geoff and pointed towards the beach, "She was heading for a walk that way. You know that the cameras aren't running right now right? You don't have to call her princess."

I smirked at her response, "I think it's gonna stick I like the nickname for her it really matches. I'm gonna go find her see you guys later." As I was about to run off to find her I saw Bridgette roll her eyes while smiling, she turned back to Geoff and they walked off towards a seating area, probably to make out.

I made my way towards the beach not expecting to see no one, at all. I shrug and make my way back to the party. I look around and could not find her anywhere so I decided to go talk to Bridgette again, when I found her she looked at me questioningly and I sighed, "I couldn't find her on the beach, not like there was anywhere to look. Could you go check the bathroom for me cause I can't find her anywhere."

She nodded and made her way towards the girls bathroom, of course not before kissing Geoff and giving him a apologetic look. Once she was gone out of earshot Geoff looked at me smirking, "What's wrong tough guy, afraid she's avoiding you?"

I cross my arm and roll my eyes, "Pfft, yeah right." I sat down to wait, "It's just weird you know? She asked to talk to me but I can't find her anywhere. What is she trying to do?"

Geoff laughed, "Dude you of all people should know girls are complicated and that yours is no exception. If anything yours is one of the most complicated."

I smirk, "How can you say that shouldn't you be her friend or something? I don't think friends work that way dude."

Geoff laughed once again, "Dude that's why I'm saying it, I've known her forever so I know how she can be, she's one of my best friends but she is just like any other teenage girl so yeah I can say that and I can definitely say she is one of the worse ones, I tell her all the time. It's kind of our thing at this point."

I smirk once again and shake my head in amusement. That's when I notice Bridgette on her way back, but she wasn't coming back with Courtney she was dragging Chris by his ear back to us with an angry look on her face.

I quickly get up and look at them both, "What's going on?" At this point Geoff got up as well and was clearly on high alert considering his girlfriend was pissed and was dragging Chris towards us.

Once Bridgette reached us she pushed Chris towards us and glared at him "Tell them what you told me."

Chris looked a little nervous, "Courtney went back home, she was sent back because she was threatening to sue, so I sent her home, she already did her final interview and signed the papers that needed signing so she's gone home."

I glare at him, "What do you mean she's gone home?! You're the one keeping us all here and now you are just sending her home out of no where. Don't tell me about that threatening to sue bullshit! You know that's a lie!"

Chris crossed his arms and glared at me as Chef came up behind him, "It's no point fighting Duncan, she left willingly. She will be in your home town until further notice and you all will be here to go on to the next season of the show."


	2. Dear Brother Benji

Duncan's POV:

The whole team of Killer Bass plus a few members of the Screaming Gophers had to hold me back from hurting Chris. They knew how hard I was working to not ruin my probation and go to jail. To be completely honest I wasn't trying that hard to get out of their grasp but I still wanted to scare the shit out of Chris. He must of completely lost his mind to send Courtney home, he really does have a death wish.

I glare at him one last time before turning around and storming off towards the dock. Bridgette and Geoff decided to follow me despite the fact that Geoff wanted to keep partying. Bridgette was the first to speak up, "Duncan are you okay?"

I glare at her, "No but I don't really have a choice I just have to get over it I guess."

Geoff scratched his head in question, "I wonder why she's actually gone, it's strange that she would just up and leave and not let anyone know or say goodbye. I really doubt Chris kicked her off because of a threat to sue because that means more ratings and drama for Chris to showcase on the trailer of the next season."

I sigh, "That's exactly what I'm thinking, nothing makes sense. I guess we'll just have to wait to see her again to get an explanation. It better be good too, to not say anything to anyone about it."

Courtney's POV:

Everything hurt, I had a killer headache and I felt like I was spinning. The last thing I remember was walking along the beach, waiting for Duncan to come so I can tell him I no longer wanted to be a part of the show, but I still want to be with him obviously.

Anyway I struggled to open my eyes, I couldn't figure out where I was, everything was black I couldn't see a thing. My head hurt and I could feel myself loosing consciousness once again. I wasn't able to focus on anything my vision was blurring and I started to panic a little. Where was I?

BANG!

I heard a door slam, my head shot up and I tried to focus on where I heard the sound. For a few minutes I couldn't see what had made the noise but once I did I started to panic and struggle, the look on his face alone told me I was in trouble, in danger and I wasn't getting out of here anytime soon.

Bridgette's POV:

This whole thing doesn't make sense, Courtney wouldn't have left without telling anyone, especially without telling Trent and I. Though I guess she and Trent aren't on the greatest of terms because even after Gwen pushed Courtney into the fire pit Trent went on to go out with Gwen until Heather stepped in and gave him a good lecture afterwards.

It was the day after the big party and Courtney was definitely gone, everyone was completely and utterly confused about her being gone, no one would have expected it. We were all getting ready to go back to  
Playa Des Losers. Chris was blaring on the intercom for all of the contestants to go to the dock and all I can think about is how long time is gonna go by, now that Courtney is gone home.

I walked up to the dock to see Gwen looking as smug as I have ever seen her since we got here. Gwen was clearly loving the fact that Courtney was out of her way. I couldn't believe that we were ever friends at one point. Honestly just the thought of what goes through her mind makes me shiver and creeps me out. We were told that only one group at a time could go to Playa Des Losers on account of the fact that the boat was a piece of crap and there was no way we would make it if we all went at once. The guys decided to be gentlemen and let us girls go first even after Chris whined about him wanting the teams to go. No one paid any attention to Chris, not even Chef. Once all of the girls were on the boat Chef started it up and off we went to Playa Des Losers. The ride to Playa Des Losers isn't very long but it's long enough for  
Heather to get in a fight with Gwen and for Gwen to be thrown off of the boat….. Yeah after the whole fire incident no one really wanted to be around Gwen once the cameras were off.

Instead of pulling Gwen back in Chef threw her a life preserver that he had tied to the boat and dragged her the rest of the way. Some may say the way we are treating her is unfair and dragging her is not nice to do and even though she's ugly inside, it doesn't mean we have to be, but I think at this point everyone is just sick of her. No one on this island is hated more then she is, not even Heather, on the show everyone hates Heather and her character on the show is worthy of some hate but off camera she's not so bad and is actually fun to hang around.

Unknown POV:

I walk up my driveway, just getting home from school, today was terrible everyone was talking about the show and what they thought about it. Everyone in my home town thinks its completely fake and I agree, being on the outside looking in sucks. We all know some of the people on the show in some way and it's ridiculous for people to think they actually act that way.

I can hardly look at any kind of news or gossip sharing site because all you see are things that are completely false and negative about everyone on the show. I am 99.9% sure that it is all a script but no news reporter has come to me for my opinion, they go to people who are actors that pretend to be friends with the cast and family of the cast but it's all a lie and all of their families are furious. The only real family they interviewed and kept in the final cut for the show was Duncan's and I'm guessing it's because of his record and they want to add more drama and craziness by showing his family and it being his actual family is easy for them to add in rather then making a fake family with a fake story.

As I got up to the door of my house I realize that there is mail in the mailbox so I open it to check it out. As I'm looking through it I make my way inside and sit in the living room, bills bills bills, nothing too interesting until I get to the end, a letter, torn, dirty but still intact. I open it not completely sure what to expect considering there was no indication on the front about who it was from. I knew immediately who it was from, from what they had wrote at the top of the page.

DEAR BROTHER BENJI

Only one person has ever called me Benji and I have missed her from the very start of her departure. She was my little sister, the girl I made laugh when she was sad, the girl I protected from all the shit heads of the world, the girl who I taught how to fight, she was one of my best friends we were always very close and we were there for each other no matter what. It was strange hearing from her through a letter though considering she had her phone and was free to call whenever cameras weren't running. Then again she always managed to surprise me, she is smart and funny and stubborn she's…

Courtney


	3. Welcome Back?

Dear brother Benji,

I'm writing you now to tell you that I will not be coming back from Total Drama. My life is going in a whole new direction and I don't want to be a part of my old life any longer. After meeting people on the island and off I realize that the life I have been leading is a lie and that I am not accomplishing the things I truly believe in. Becoming a lawyer and a CIT is the worst possible thing for me right now. It's not what I want it's actually the opposite and I can not go back to that life so I will not be returning to you or our family. We have two more seasons to go with this show then I am joining my friends from the show and going to do my own thing. DON'T LOOK FOR ME. I am finally going to be happy and if you look for me I will never forgive you.

Courtney

Benjamin's POV:

I could not believe what I was reading, my sister is not coming back? This must be some kind of sick joke! She loves her life and told me herself that the show would have been a waste of time because she was happy with where she was in life to begin with so even if she did win it would not have mattered. Growing up Courtney and I had it kind of rough… our father left us, Courtney taking it especially hard had lots of fights with friends and family. She went through a really rough patch when he left, getting into trouble, throwing fits and getting into fights with friends. Our mother is a doctor so she had no time to really spend with us which made it harder for both of us, though our mother loved us greatly it was clear that she was having a hard time as well. Courtney didn't want anything to do with anyone for the first couple of years.

Two years later when Courtney turned 8 and I was 15 our mother found someone new and became quite serious about him, he became our new stepfather a year later. His name was Brad and he and my mother knew each other since they were 5, started dating in high school and lost touch for a number of years until they met again after our father left. He's a nice guy and showed lots of interest and understanding towards Courtney and I. He was and still is an amazing lawyer and because of his job has a choice of how much time he spends at home but is also very busy.

The addition of Brad made it hard for Courtney but it also helped a lot. He and Courtney got pretty close and she became Daddy's little girl once again. He went to all of her dance rehearsals, her music class shows, her spelling bees, football games, she was a cheerleader, and he supported her in everything she did. As she got older she was getting more and more interested in my Karate class, she wanted to learn how to fight so I taught her, Brad was there for that as well. He taught both of us about one of his hobbies, hunting, and showed us how to use guns. He came to every game I played and to all of my things that were important to me as well. He really is a good man. Lately since Courtney and I have become older he has been working more often, meaning my parents asked me to be in charge of Courtney and our younger step-brother Andrew who is now 7. Me being the only adult in our household most of the time is responsible for both of them, I go to college and pick them up from school.

Brad was nothing like our father, I remember him more than Courtney does, he was a mean evil asshole in my eyes who wanted nothing more than to just cause major drama and issues for everyone because he loved how it made him feel. He was an ass to my mother most of the time and ordered me around quite a lot so that he didn't have to do any work. He was completely different towards Courtney though for a little while she was his little angel who could do no wrong. He would play with her, care for her and teach her things like singing songs and such but as she got older and he started to realize that he was not going to 'make money off of her' as he put it, he decided to leave our whole family behind. The whole reason why he was with my mother in the first place was because she was attractive and if he could make an attractive child who could bring him easy money with modelling and such then he would be over the moon. That was his only goal in having a family and my mother didn't see it until she had kids and it was too late.

After he left he refused to pay child support, sent my mother and I as well as Courtney, though she never saw them, nasty messages. The courts said there wasn't much they could do because at that point he had moved out of the country and was no longer in their jurisdiction. He decided to leave when we were all home, seemingly a normal Saturday morning but he decided to ruin it by making a scene and storming out of the house with a bag of his belongings, which weren't much because apparently he had sent a lot of things away before that day. Courtney was crying and begging him to stay, she thought it was her fault that he was leaving and she would repeat over and over that she would do better, though she was his little angel he was harsh with her about getting things right the first time and when he left she thought he was leaving because she had done something wrong or because she was weak, another reason he was harsh with her about, she had to be strong. She would hold onto his coat as he was walking away and chase him down to his car. When he finally had enough he gave her a shove, got in the car and slammed the door. That night was horrible, Courtney was a mess and ever since she has had a hard time trusting people and being okay with not being perfect at everything.

When all of this happened it affected Courtney's relationship with her friends, she was able to keep quite a few of them but kids being kids did not understand why Courtney was behaving the way she was so she lost a few of them, including Duncan. Duncan, Heather, Courtney and Trent were all in the same dance academy when they were younger, Duncan, Heather and Courtney were in the same ballet class while Trent was across the hall in a mixed type of dancing class. Duncan being the little piece of shit he was teased Courtney quite a lot when he noticed her acting differently then before which led to Courtney flipping out at him and tackling and punching him while at a ballet play that their class was performing. All of the parents were there and Trent was there as well, he was actually the one to pull Courtney off. After that she was put into the class across the hall and a year after the whole incident Duncan quit dance all together, he never actually wanted to be there his family wanted him to be more graceful and teach him some discipline.

Anyway when our father saw Courtney on the show he started to harass us for her number, we never gave it to him of course because we knew just what he want, money. Being through everything Courtney has been through makes me believe that she did not write this note just out of pure fact that she does not hate it here, she pulled through everything we went through and now has an awesome life and before she went on the show was very happy go lucky so I really doubt this is from her. This concerns me more because if this is not from her then who is it from and why did they send it.

Duncan's POV:

It has been three weeks since Courtney left, none of us were allowed away from Chris and the camera crew so we were all put in this crappy hotel and told to stay as if we're dogs. I was pissed, Courtney wasn't here and the T.V sucks and the internet is a load of bullshit, the only thing I have to look forward to is hanging out with people and playing cards or board games. Every now and then there would be a party but without any booze it's hard to accomplish and succeed in a good night. Life wasn't as interesting as it could have been, we all could have been home enjoying our freedom but because Chris decided to start the new season quickly he decided that we should all just stay here and wait.

I heard a knock at the door and sigh knowing full well who it was, "Hey Duncan I got a surprise for you."

I sigh and groan, Chris having a surprise only leads to trouble. I get up and walk to the door and as I am opening it I say, "What the heck do you want now….." I trail off as I see princess standing there.

"Princess?" I say in confusion.

She sighs, "Do you really have to call me that? The cameras are off you know?"

I glare at Chris, "Is that what he told you? Oh please Chris we all know you are filming us every minute even in the bathroom might I add. Oh by the way you may want this back." I turn to a table that was placed beside my door and pick up what was left of a camera and handed it to him. He looked crushed that he would now have to spend more money to replace a camera but walked off without another word.

I turned to Courtney, "So you decided to be on the show huh? I thought Chris said something about you didn't want to be here or that you 'threatened to sue' or something."

She laughed, god I missed her laugh, and shook her head, "Duncan please don't tell me you believed him? I had to leave for a family emergency, turns out old people can have gas too."

I looked at her confused and she laughed once more but did not provide any more details, instead she walked passed me into my hotel room and laid on the bed, picking up a pack of cards I had on the night stand and held them out to me.

Courtney's POV:

It's been three weeks since I've been in this hell hole and I'm about to give up all together. I have been starved, beaten, raped and mentally tortured ever since I got here. I don't think I'll ever be able to leave and I've been forced to watch my friends living in hotel rooms while Chris made plans on how he was gonna ruin my life. Today was the day he was gonna 'bring me back' to the show and by that I mean he was going to introduce an actress he found 'back into' the show. He hired an actress to pretend to be me!

I watched helplessly as he knocked on Duncan's hotel room door. The fake bitch in tow waiting for Duncan to open the door. I heard him call her princess and I knew there was no way he would ever question who she really was, I don't think anyone will because she looks just like me and I'm sure Chris and her have went over footage so that she could act as me as well. I don't blame Duncan or anyone else for them thinking it was me even though its not.

I think if Duncan and I were to switch places I would not know the real Duncan either.

Author's NOTE: This chapter is subject to change... It is not for sure going to change but if i see it needs to be i will rewrite it :)

Please review and thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :)


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